Caribbean Crusades

Chapter 7

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Thanks to those who stuck with me while my story was deleted, and here's the long-awaited chapter the seventh…

Chavi West-Wind - Thanks for reviewing again, and in answer to your last review that got deleted along with my story…I definitely share that opinion with you. Orlando and Johnny are very sexy. (in case you can't see that, the very is underlined, bold and in italics). Oh, and a eunuch is a guy who's been castrated.

Masked critic - Thanks for your review. If you're still with me, no, I definitely do not hate you and want revenge, actually, your review was actually the one that made me go back over my chapters and add in bits and pieces. I didn't realise that I didn't put in her reactions to the skeleton pirates and Tortuga until you mentioned it, and explained the rest of the things you mentioned in the stuff I added into the other chapters. As to the bit about her and Jack, I don't think that's too much of a problem, because back then it was more common for a much older man to go for a younger woman. Look at Norrington asking Elizabeth to marry him for example. And she didn't actually sleep with Jack, she just shared a bed (if you're meaning the bit in Tortuga).

Thank you to haldir2, chibi-ami, Lykosdracos and amy for recommending Johnny movies to me. I'm in the process of watching them all. My favourite so far is Chocolat…yummy Johnny sexiness…I liked it so much I went out and bought the DVD.

Thanks also to everyone else who reviewed…

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By the time nightfall came, we were all pretty tipsy, but Jack still managed to light a fire, which is a glorious thing to dance around when you've been drinking too much.

Elizabeth started singing, and Jack and I soon joined in and we were dancing around the fire singing. "We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs. Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!" we yelled at the top of our lungs. Just as well we were the only ones on this island, or the whole thing could've been pretty embarrassing.

"I love this song! Really bad eggs! Woo!" Jack said, before falling over in the sand. "When I get the Pearl back, I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew and we'll sing it all the time." He vowed.

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main." Elizabeth piped up. She really must be drunk to be agreeing with Jack.

"Not just the Spanish Main, luv, the entire ocean, the entire wo'ld. Wherever we want to go, we'll go, that's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails that's what a ship needs but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom." He said, all with his usual hand waving.

"Jack, it must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island." Elizabeth said, cozying up to Jack. I couldn't help but feel mad at her for taking Jack's attention. I didn't know what had come over me. Instead of trying to put a name to the feeling, even though I had this little niggly thought that I knew what it was, I just put it down to the fact that I'd been drinking too much.

"Oh, yes." Jack said, one of his arms around me, the other around Elizabeth. "But the company is infinitely better than last time, I think. And the…the scenery has definitely improved."

I held up my bottle. "Let's make a toast."

Elizabeth held up her own bottle. "To freedom."

Jack clinked his bottle against ours. "To the Black Pearl." He then tipped his bottle on end and gulped down the rest of his drink, before lying back on the sand.

I finished the rest of mine off, and dropped the bottle next to me, before lying down next to Jack and cuddling into him for warmth. He held me in close with one of his arms and we fell asleep like that.

The next morning I was woken by the smell of smoke. Jack must have awakened also, because he got up in a big hurry. I rolled over and looked up the beach where Jack was going. There was a large plume of smoke trailing its way into the air. It was all good until I discovered what the fire was actually fueled with.

"No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade, the rum!" I heard Jack yell, with emphasis on the rum bit of course.

The rum! She burned the rum! I ran the rest of the way and stopped in horror when I saw the fire.

"Yes, the rum is gone." Elizabeth said simply. She burned it on purpose!?

"Why is the rum gone?" Jack asked. He sounded so forlorn it was almost cute, which was not a word you'd normally associate with Jack.

"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?" Elizabeth explained.

"But why is the rum gone?"

"Just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon." Elizabeth said assuredly.

I watched as Jack pulled out his pistol in frustration, then thought better of it and tucked it back into his pants and stalked off down the beach. I could hear him imitating Elizabeth's comments from last night. Deciding to leave Elizabeth the pyromaniac with her glorious fire, I ran off after Jack, just in case he decided to do something stupid. He'd stopped at the far end of the beach and was staring out at the ocean. And what do you know? White sails on the horizon.

"There'll be no living with her after this." Jack commented.

"Don't worry, mate. Let's go get Elizabeth and what's left of the rum and wait for the Dauntless to come." I pulled him by his arm and he started walking back down the beach with me.

"Looks like you were right." I commented to Elizabeth when we got back.

She looked relieved. "Well, let's go wait for them then." She said, starting to walk off.

"Uh, hold up a sec." I said, laughing at Jack, who had his arms full of the bottles.

"I don't think you'll need all of that rum, Jack." I said.

He shrugged, causing one of the bottles to fall down to the sand. "Don't see the harm. Could you pick that one up, luv?"

I picked up the bottle and placed it in his arms, where it balanced precariously.

By the time we'd got back over to the end of the beach, half the bottles had fallen on the way, and I managed to convince him to leave them here. You never know, I'd said, he could be marooned again. He didn't like that idea much to say the least.

We sat on the sand and watched as the Dauntless lowered a dinghy into the water and they slowly rowed to us.

They hit the beach and Norrington stepped out of the boat and strode up the beach to meet us. He looked incredibly relieved to see Elizabeth and not very pleased to see Jack and me.

After giving Elizabeth the prime treatment and escorting her to the dinghy, he turned to me and Jack, giving Jack a dirty look when he noticed the rum he was holding. Obviously he was against drinking. "Rum stays here." He said.

Jack dropped the last of his bottles without a fuss. I gave him a curious look and he patted the small canteen attached to his belt, giving me a knowing grin. Of course, he always has a trick up his sleeve.

We followed Norrington, well, we were actually forced, to the dinghy and we were rowed back to the Dauntless, where we were under constant scrutiny by the soldiers. Honestly, do you really think we're gonna jump overboard and swim back to that island?

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She and her father had been arguing about this for a while now. Quite entertaining really.

"No. You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately not go gallivanting after pirates!" Governor Swann said, giving Jack a dirty look.

"Then we condemn him to death." Elizabeth stated.

"The boy's fate is regrettable but then so is his decision to engage in piracy."

"To rescue me, to prevent anything from happening to me!"

"If I may be so bold as to interject my professional opinion." Jack interrupted. "The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it, the Black Pearl, the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?" He obviously had a plan. He would never willingly allow the Black Pearl to be captured by Norrington.

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." Norrington said, all poncy like.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me…as a wedding gift." Elizabeth said. There was a bit of shock at that. Well, people will do pretty much anything in the name of love. Although, personally, I wouldn't go so far as to marry someone I didn't even like, but hey, this is Elizabeth we're talking about here. She seems pretty crazy when it comes to Will.

"Elizabeth. Are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" Governor Swann sounded surprised.

"I am."

"A wedding! I love weddings…drinks all around!" Jack piped up cheerfully. "I know…clap him in irons, right?" he added, extending his arms dolefully.

"Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'. Do I make myself clear?" Norrington said.

"Inescapably clear." Jack remarked.

Norrington turned to me. "Samantha. I want you to accompany Elizabeth into her quarters and stay there until we reach Port Royale. Do I make myself clear?"

"I want to stay with Jack." I said firmly, folding my arms defiantly.

"May I remind you that you are a grown woman, not a toddler." Norrington said. "You need to learn respect for your elders."

"Yeah, elder is right. Now if you'll excuse me, mate." I said, pushing past him, making my way up to the helm to where Jack was. Norrington looked a little dumbfounded. Probably not used to people disobeying his orders. Especially a woman. Oh well, there has to be a first for everything.

We were back in the lagoon outside Isla de Muerta within the day and we were standing by the dinghies, getting ready to be lowered into the water. I was having another little confrontation with Norrington.

"You've pushed your luck as it is. You will stay here."

"No way am I missing out on this. 'Sides, don't you need someone to keep an eye on Jack?"

Jack gave me a sideways look, then cut in. "Look, it'd be far worse not to have her. Let's just get going, savvy?"

We loaded ourselves into boats and we were lowered into the water. I was stuck in the same boat as Norrington. Made it seem…smaller somehow. Actually, being in the same country as Norrington makes it seem smaller. It wasn't so bad though, cause Jack was also there.

"I don't care for the situation. Any attempt to storm the cave could turn to an ambush." Norrington said. Talk about a stick in the mud.

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing. I go in to convince Barbossa to send his men out in their little boats. You and your mates return to the Dauntless and blast the bejesus outta them with your little cannons, aye?" Jack put his hand on Norrington's shoulder. "What do you have to lose?"

Norrington peeled Jack's hand off his shoulder like it was a piece of garbage. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless which includes the future Mrs. Commodore." Jack said, which left me wondering what he had in mind.

Norrington didn't reply to that last comment, but I'm sure he was thinking about it. And I'm sure Elizabeth wouldn't like whatever he did.

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The end of another chapter.

I had a really mental dream last night. Actually, it was pretty good dream, but it was weird. I was at this party with one of my friends and all of a sudden, Johnny and Orlando were there, and they danced with us. Then I woke up. Bizarre, eh?

~Rhi